Gripla - 01.01.1995, Page 183

STEFANUS SAGA IN REYKJAHÓLABÓK
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kæme til Rom. þviat postolar gvdz villjaa þat at hann kome til
þeirra. og verd eg þaa at fara vr minv herberge þo mier þyke
mikit fyrer en vist ecki fyre. (238:30-239:3)
In the Passionael there is only one reference to the pope in the ne-
gotiations for the exchange of the relics. It takes place after the em-
peror has unilaterally, or so it seems, declared his willingness to trade
St. Lawrence for St. Stephen. The Passionael reports that it was diffi-
cult for the Constantinopolitans to give up their saint, but „se deden
dat doch vmme des keysers willen“ (xcviii, b). Only now does the em-
peror report to the pope and his cardinals concerning the negotiations.
The lack of proper protocol in these negotiations - which are, after all,
primarily an ecclesiastical matter - is striking, and the text in Reykja-
hólabók bears witness that the Low German text in the Passionael has
been drastically reduced. In the Icelandic version we read that the
Constantinopolitans agree to the exchange in the first place because
the offer was made in conjunction with the pope’s advice and approval
(239:17-19; 23). When the emperor receives word of the reaction from
Constantinople, he sends word to the pope, who in turn orders his car-
dinals to undertake the mission to fetch the relics of St. Stephen. If
one reads the Passionael text alongside the redaction in Reykjahóla-
bók it becomes clear that the abrupt and insufficiently motivated char-
acter of the Low German text is the result of abridgment. In the Ice-
landic legend, however, we are told that not only the negotiations for
the exchange but also the procedures for doing so are a joint ecclesias-
tical-imperial venture: „fer þetta allt efter þvi sem bæde pafen og keis-
aren hofdv giortt rad fyrer“ (239:33-240:1). Although the Legenda au-
rea itself transmits abridged texts of longer redactions, it attests that
the exchange of relics is suggested and carried out only after the em-
peror has consulted the ecclesiastical establishment, notably the pope,
who is identified as Pelagius:
Quod cum imperator audivisset, a clero et populo Constantino-
politano obtinuit, ut corpus sancti Stephani Romanis daretur et
ipsi beati Laurentii corpus acciperent. Tunc imperator Pelagio
papae super hoc scripsit, papa vero de consilio cardinalium im-
peratoris petitioni consensit. Missi igitur Constantinopolim car-
dinales corpus sancti Stephani Romam deferunt et Graeci pro
accipiendo corpore sancti Laurentii prosequuntur. (p. 464).